My First Go with Paint Correction - 2006 Cobalt

[iron_worker]

Hey guys,

First time poster here but I've been hanging around this forum for a while and learning tons! I liked what I saw so much around here I placed a huge order with AG and got a GG 6" and 3" DA, wolfgang kit with swirl remover, final glaze, sealer, etc. I also picked up some glass polishing bits, a bunch of MF towels and many other goodies.

I should have taken a couple overall before pics of the car but of course I didn't think of that ...




The swirls are actually much worse than it shows but it's hard to capture on camera as you know.


Water spots, scratches, and swirls all in one spot!


But I got it looking pretty clear ...


I experimented on the hood and was very pleased with the results so I applied my technique to the rest of the car the next day...


Not sure what the speckles were ... almost looked like a metallic but I don't think it was, possibly over spray but neither clay nor polishing had any affect on them.




The sun was going down as I finished the whole car so you don't get the proper effect but the overall results were quite good.






My ugly mug ... but pretty good DOI. lol


Don't mind the oxidized wheels ... new wheels coming up this spring.


The door panels were in really rough shape. I guess from hands and keys and such... There were a few scratches that I couldn't get out even after 3 passes with swirl remover.


Basically all the swirls came out but anything that was a bit heavier than that remained. The clear seemed quite hard to cut.


Very close up of around the door handle area.

My method:
Waterless wash
Clay bar entire car with clay lube
2 passes with orange pad and Wolfgang swirl remover
(3 passes on the doors)
1 pass with white pad and wolfgang final glaze
Meguiars NXT Tech Wax machine applied on black pad
(I was going to use Wolfgang sealant but was running out of time so I couldn't wait for it to set up)

I tried using some Meguiars UC in place of the wolfgang swirl remover to see if it had any more cut (also on an orange pad) ... but it seemed about the same.

I'm quite pleased with the results but feel like I probably could have used some more cutting power. Some of the scratches might have even needed to be wet sanded? I'm not too worried about it in this application since it was my guinea pig car. I really want to polish my truck ... which is coming soon hopefully.

I have my eye on the new micro fiber cutting pad system as this seems to be a good match for my GG DA machine. From what I've watched and read it gives excellent correcting power. Anyone want to offer some opinions on that or if I should consider going to a more aggressive foam pad or more aggressive compound? Will I have to step up to wet sanding for anything more than just a light swirl?

Thanks all!

Hope you enjoy my pics. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

IW

[Pureshine]

Looks good and Welcome to AGO

[Sicoupe]

Good job buddy! Welcome aboard

[traveljunkie523]

Good results for a first time.

[ken tuep]

Nice job! Were your passes section passes? 6-8 overlapping passes, 3 times, or just 3 passes over a section?

More passes may have helped if the latter. Chevrolet clearcoats are notoriously hard. You did really good, especially for what I'd consider a daily driver.

With your new tools(toys) you'll find you're gonna polish more often now just to "play". LOL

You can always focus on the bit deeper stuff later, that's how I approach most of my jobs. Including my own vehicles.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using AG Online

[GenesisCoupe]

Just what we need, another Android user....




just kidding, very nice work!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Welcome to AGO.

Nice job for a first post.

[nissenc1337]

Yeha, you did a great job!

You may want to try Iron-X on those spots your clay didn't remove. It could be rail dust/iron embedded into your paint.

I agree with the posts above, double you section passes next time and see if you notice better results.

[ShaunD]

Great first time, and welcome to the Geek.
What was your polisher speed set to for the three passes on the door? Also l, how fast were you moving the polisher across the area with heavy defects? Heavy down force is required to cut heavy defects; enough force so that you are getting about 1-2 revolutions of the pad/backing plate per second. All that said, you should get some 5-6 inch and 3 inch MF pads. Those with UC or D300 should remove a good portion of the heavy defects. Just be mindful of removing too much clear in heavy use areas of the car.
As for the speckling, has the car every been in or near a bodyshop? Also, a couple of rounds of an iron neutralizer/decontaminater are necessary, followed by a medium to aggressive clay. MF pads with very slow arm speed and firm down force would probably remove the majority of the speckling after treating for iron. Where s the speckling the worst? If you are seeing it on the hood then it may be pitting from abrasion from road debris.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AG Online

[iron_worker]

Thanks for the kind welcome everyone.

I did 6 overlapping passes for each "pass" ... so I did 12 over the whole car and at least 18 on the doors. And that was on speed 6!

The more I look at the speckles in the paint the more I think it must be factory. You can't even really feel them being raised up. The car doesn't look like it's metallic from anything more than 1-2ft away but up close it's covered in little light speckles. Not that it really matters. lol

Oh and yes that is as daily driver as it gets. It sits outside every day, all day, through Canadian winters and all. The paint was *very* neglected before I got to it. It's my gf's car and she rarely even washed it. I guess I'll be taking on the washing duties for her vehicle now too.

I will have some interesting challenges with washing too since I leave in a condo so I have no access to water for washing and I don't have a lot of space to keep tools/supplies. I'm trying to devise a plan of how I can properly wash/dry my vehicles at the commercial hand wash place.

Thanks for looking everyone,

IW